With the turn of a valve, Troy Mayor Patrick Madden officially opening the newly constructed water main for service.

“The new 36-inch line that we installed replaces that line and expands the capacity and the reliability of our drinking water system for 135,000 customers that we serve in Troy and around the Capital Region,” Mayor Patrick Madden said.

Pieces of the old line showed how badly it was in need of the multi-million dollar repairs. The main was more than 100 years old.

“To give you some perspective Teddy Roosevelt was in the White House, Utah wasn’t even a state yet nor was Arizona or Oklahoma, so this is a critical line in our system,” Mayor Madden said.

Despite more than a year of traffic and water pressure headaches for the area, the city says the project was mostly positive experience. Most of it paid for by a $3.2 million state grant.

“I have never been more impressed with a government agency that I was with EFC,” Mayor Madden said. “We were supported and we were encouraged every step of the way they fully understood what we were up against and they bent over backward to secure the funding for this work.”